


First Impressions

by drivingmishcrazy



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Teachers, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Forced Proximity, Hate to Love, One Shot, Romantic Fluff, Time Skips, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Uneasy Allies, adversaries to lovers, one night changes everything
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:15:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25990432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drivingmishcrazy/pseuds/drivingmishcrazy
Summary: Teacher AU. Emily Prentiss has despised Derek Morgan since the day she started working at Schuyler Academy. But one night where they’re forced to work together could change everything.
Relationships: Derek Morgan/Emily Prentiss
Comments: 5
Kudos: 29





	First Impressions

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pelin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pelin/gifts).



> A very belated happy birthday to Pelin! I hope reading this makes you as giddy as writing it made me.
> 
> Content warnings: mentions of domestic violence and child sexual abuse.

If there was one person in the world that Emily Prentiss simply couldn’t  _ stand,  _ it was Derek Morgan.

Ever since Emily had transferred to the prestigious private high school they both worked at in Virginia five years ago, Derek Morgan had been nothing but a thorn in her side. Sure he was funny, charming, and good with the students, but he knew it and that made him cocky, arrogant. It didn’t help that he was attractive and clearly thought he was god’s gift to women, the thought of him made Emily want to throw up in her mouth. What was worse? Derek seemed to delight in nothing more than irritating her, and he was good at it. When he had put two and two together that she was the daughter of Ambassador Prentiss and a trust fund baby at that, he had coined the hated nickname “princess”, reducing her to nothing but a spoiled little rich girl whose accomplishments were made possible by mommy and daddy’s money. She despised it and despised him.

For the most part, she tried to ignore him, and for the most part it worked, aside from the occasional teasing. It all would have been fine had Emily and Derek not been volunteered (more like volun _ told)  _ to chaperone the beginning of the year lock-in for incoming students. No matter how much Emily tried to get out of it, her pleas to switch with another teacher went ignored, Aaron Hotchner, the school principal dismissing her problems with Derek as a silly feud.

“Really, Ms. Prentiss.” He said. “I don’t know what this hostility between you and Mr. Morgan is all about but I would think two professionals could set their differences aside for their students for one night.”

“It’s not that I can’t,  _ sir. _ ” Emily said in a clipped tone. “I just think that everything would go much more smoothly if the situation was avoided entirely.”

“Coach Jareau has a family commitment.” Hotchner replied. “And Ms. Garcia has chaperoned the last  _ two _ lock-ins, I can’t ask her to do a third.”

“What about Dr. Reid?” She asked. 

“The last time Dr. Reid chaperoned the freshman girls made a Facebook page dedicated to him.” He responded. “The board had a field day.”

“Fine.” She grumbled. “But don’t expect me to like it.”

The entire week leading up to the lock in, Emily complained loudly to anyone who would listen about her predicament. She was unpleasantly surprised to find that few of her colleagues understood her apprehension. Even her closest friend, Jennifer Jareau, PE instructor and coach of the undefeated girl’s soccer team seemed confused by just how displeased she was.

“I don’t get why you’re so upset.” She said to Emily over lunch the day before the lock-in. “You already have to put up with him during school hours, what’s the harm in doing it for a little bit longer?”

“JJ, that’s not the point!” Emily exclaimed. “I do it because I  _ have  _ to, Hotch wouldn’t even  _ consider  _ letting me switch with someone else.”

“Why do you hate Morgan so much anyway?” The blonde asked. “Did he do something?”

“It’s not that.” Emily said. She sighed. “He’s just so  _ full  _ of himself! You can tell that he thinks he’s the greatest thing on two legs the way he walks around here.”

JJ gave Emily a look and rolled her eyes as she opened her bag of Cheetos.

“And then there’s the nicknames,” Emily continued, gesturing with her hands. “And the  _ constant  _ flirting, I’m surprised he hasn’t gotten hit with sexual harassment.”

“So what you’re saying is he rubs you the wrong way?”

“Yeah.” Emily said, suddenly unsure. “I guess so.”

“Well…” JJ said with a mischievous grin. “It sounds like maybe you guys need to work on rubbing each other the  _ right  _ way, if you catch my drift.”

Emily’s cheeks went red. “JJ!” She said, lowering her voice. “That’s totally inappropriate!”

“I’m just saying.” JJ said. “It sounds like your problems with Derek Morgan are being caused by a different kind of tension than you think.”

“I don’t think so.” Emily shook her head. “I’m not interested in being just another notch in Derek Morgan’s headboard.”

“Who says you  _ would  _ be?” JJ asked, crunching a cheeto. “You know, whatever dislike you have for him doesn’t seem to be mutual. He only ever has  _ nice  _ things to say about you.”

Emily frowned. “He barely knows me.”

“And whose fault is that?”

Emily opened her mouth to respond but before she could, Derek Morgan himself walked over to the table where they sat, grinning that cheeky grin of his and folding his arms. Emily fought against the scowl threatening to overtake her face, looking down at her food as she forced her features into a neutral expression. JJ quirked an eyebrow. If Derek noticed the exchange he didn’t show it.

“Afternoon ladies.” He said. “Coach Jareau, how’s that little man of yours doing?”

“Henry?” She said. “He’s good, he’s getting close to taking those first steps.”

Derek’s smile widened. “Alright, that’s what I like to hear!” He said. “What about you, Prentiss? You ready for the big night tomorrow night?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” She replied, sighing.

“Come on, it won’t be  _ that  _ bad.” He said with a small laugh. “We’re just supervising a group of hormonal freshmen hopped up on pizza, junk food and soda, what could possibly go wrong?”

“I can think of a few ways.” Emily muttered. “Guess I better bring an industrial sized thermos of coffee.”

“Got ya covered, princess.” Derek said. “I got a good deal on bulk coffee, and not the cheap crap they give us for the teacher’s lounge, either. I don’t think even Rossi with his fancy Italian espresso would turn his nose up at this stuff.”

Emily blinked. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw JJ mouth  _ “princess?”  _ barely able to hide her amusement. Emily shot her a pointed look before turning back to Derek, forcing what she hoped was a small smile.

“Well, thank you.” She said. “You really don’t have to do that, though. I can bring my own.”

Derek shrugged. “We’re all in this together, right?”

“Right.” She conceded. “Thank you.”

“Any time.” Derek said, his grin returning as he turned to walk away. “See you tomorrow night!”

“See you.” Emily mumbled after him. She glared again at JJ who was covering her mouth to hide her laughter as soon as Derek’s back was turned. “Oh don’t even start with me, JJ!”

“Whatever you say,  _ princess!” _ JJ giggled. “Come on! It’s  _ obvious  _ he likes you, he’s being nice and you could do a lot worse, you know. Remember the last guy?”

“You mean Mick Rawson?” Emily said. “The arrogant, egotistical asshole who thought he was sex on a stick but could barely last five minutes and then ghosted me after three weeks? Yeah, and I’d rather not repeat the experience with a guy whose ego is bigger than his-“

JJ laughed. “Oh and  _ I’m  _ the inappropriate one?” She said. “Rawson was a jerk, and sure, Derek is a flirt, but he’s got a reputation for being  _ quite  _ the gentleman.”

Emily’s brows lifted in surprise “Oh?”

“That’s what I’ve heard.” JJ said, then lowered her voice. “I’ve also heard from more than a few people that his  _ ego  _ is more than justified.”

Emily’s eyes widened, she stammered and cursed her cheeks for turning pink as she fumbled for a response to the unwanted information.

“Uh, that-“ She faltered. “Is an image I  _ never  _ needed in my head, so thank you for that a-and even  _ if  _ I were interested, which I’m  _ not,  _ there’s still the small matter of his personality  _ and  _ mine which  _ don’t  _ mix.”

“Uh-huh.” JJ said skeptically. “You just keep telling yourself that, Em. Have  _ fun _ tomorrow night.”

Emily groaned. She was  _ entirely  _ convinced that ‘fun’ was  _ not _ a word that would  _ ever  _ describe her being forced to spend an entire sleep-deprived night corralling a bunch of fourteen year olds with Derek Morgan, no matter  _ what  _ her friend thought. Tomorrow night was sure to be a nightmare, she thought, and nothing could convince her otherwise.

The following evening, Emily walked into Schuyler Academy as if she were walking to the guillotines. The gym reverberated with the sound of forty or so teenagers chattering in anticipation for the night ahead. She caught Derek’s eye from across the room and he beckoned for her to join him, begrudgingly she went to stand beside him, surveying the sea of children that they were responsible for that night.

“So what’s the plan?” She asked.

Derek shrugged. “Pizza’s on its way.” He said. “I figure we load these guys up on carbs and sugary soda and then let them burn it all off with a game of dodgeball.”

“Do kids even  _ play  _ dodgeball anymore?” She said. “I thought the board would have banned it by now on the grounds that it’s a safety hazard.”

“Come on, Prentiss.” Derek chuckled. “No one’s ever gotten  _ seriously  _ hurt playing dodgeball. It’s a little harmless fun, blow off some steam.”

“I see.” Emily said. “And will we be refereeing this game or will we be blowing off steam too?”

“Nah, I’ll stick to the sidelines.” He said. “I don’t know about you, princess, but I prefer contact sports.”

_ Of course you do.  _ Emily thought, shocking herself with the way her mind went straight to the double entendre. To Derek she said, “Why do you call me that?”

Derek blinked. “What do you mean?”

“You call me princess all the time.” She said. “I mean do I really come off as that much of a snob?”

“Emily, I don’t think you’re a snob.” He replied, more surprised than anything else. “You really thought that was what it was about?”

“Uh, yeah.” Emily said. “Kind of. So what is it?”

“You really don’t see it?” Derek said with a shake of his head. “It’s the way you carry yourself, Prentiss. It’s confident, classy without bringing attention to itself.”

Emily stared at him, her mouth slightly open. “Oh.”

Derek’s brow furrowed. “Why?” He asked. “Does it bother you when I call you that?”

Moments before, Emily would have answered with a resounding ‘yes’ but in the light of actually knowing the  _ reason  _ behind the nickname, she found herself less sure of her answer. “I- uh, I don’t know.” She said, shocking herself. “I guess it’s alright.”

“Okay.” Derek said, giving her a strange look. “Well if that ever changes, let me know and I’ll lay off.”

“Don’t worry.” Emily said. “I will.”

As Derek walked away, Emily felt a strange twinge of guilt that she was unaccustomed to. Was it possible that she had misjudged Derek Morgan? That she had spent years disliking this man for no real reason? She couldn’t be certain just yet, it was too soon to tell. But one thing was for sure, Emily Prentiss’ long night with Derek had just gotten a  _ lot  _ more interesting.

The pizza had arrived within an hour. Throngs of hungry teenagers descended on the extra large boxes containing the cheesy pies laden with every kind of topping imaginable. It was like a feeding frenzy, Emily imagined the fourteen year olds as hungry sharks going after chum in the ocean and the mental image of her students with gills and dorsal fins made her chuckle, earning a curious look from Derek.

“What are you giggling about?” He asked.

“It’s nothing.” She said. “It’s silly, I just...it’s like feeding time at the aquarium or the zoo, that’s all.”

Derek laughed. “You’re not wrong.” He said. “You hungry, Prentiss? I got one for us, too.”

Emily’s eyebrows lifted in surprise as Derek opened the box in front of them and saw half of the pizza covered in sausage, bacon, and ham, her favorite.

“Wha-?” She said. “How did you know-?”

“Prentiss, come on.” He said. “Any time the faculty has a pizza party, you always get the same thing. I’d have to be pretty oblivious not to notice.”

“Yeah, well you’re not much better.” Emily muttered in response. “You  _ always  _ get mushroom, pepperoni, and jalapeños on yours, Morgan.”

It was Derek’s turn to raise his brows then. “You see, that  _ does  _ surprise me.” He said. “You knowing  _ my  _ favorite pizza toppings, now  _ that  _ I didn’t expect.”

“Why not?” She asked. “You knew mine.”

“I don’t know.” Derek said, he smiled sheepishly. “I guess I always kinda got the feeling the feeling that you didn’t like me very much.”

There it was again. The guilt. Except instead of a twinge it was a full on stab. Emily cringed internally, she had always been sure that her dislike of Derek Morgan had gone unnoticed by the man himself, and she felt like an ass knowing it hadn’t. She bit her lip.

“I think I may have judged you too quickly.” She admitted. “You’re not who I thought you were.”

“Okay.” Derek shrugged. “Who’d you think I was?”

Emily smiled. “Why don’t we save that for later?” She said. “We have a whole night ahead of us.”

Derek shook his head and returned her grin. “Alright then.” He said. “But don’t you think for one second that I’m gonna let you off that easy, princess.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Emily said, taking a bite of pizza and groaning. “God, this is good.”

Derek gave a good-natured chuckle and Emily felt her stomach do a weird flip at the way he looked at her, like she was a puzzle that he couldn’t quite figure out but he was sure having fun trying to. Emily could feel things starting to shift between them, now that she was slowly coming to the realization that her assumptions about Derek  _ hadn’t  _ been as irrefutable as she had previously thought. She’d taken him for an arrogant cad, and if she was being honest the revelation that she might have been wrong about him all that time threw her for a loop. She began to wonder what else she had been wrong about over the years and what other surprises the night had in store.

Things were going fine until the dodgeball game.

They had waited an hour after the kids had finished gorging themselves on greasy slices of pizza to socialize and let their stomachs settle before setting up the game. It had started out pretty straightforward, girls versus boys and the odds had been surprisingly even. The boys had gotten a head start in round one, but the girls made a comeback in round two, pelting the boys mercilessly. It had all come down to the wire in the third and final round, Kelsey Anderson and Nate Zimmerman were the last two standing. They ducked and dodged, fake-throwed and played chicken, trying to wait one another out. It would have been over and a victory for the boys if Kelsey hadn’t ducked Nate’s last ball at the last minute which unfortunately hit Emily square in the head and sent her tumbling down, the shock knocking her off her axis. Sharp pain exploded as her skull made contact with the gym floor and her vision swam, if she had been a cartoon character, stars would have been circling her head. Derek was by her side in an instant, Emily could see his lips moving and his brows knit with concern but it took a moment before she worked out what he was saying to her.

“Prentiss?” Derek said. “Emily! Are you okay?”

“What?” She said. “Yeah! Yeah, I’m okay. I’m good.”

“Are you sure?” He asked, frowning. “Can you stand?”

“Yeah.” She said. “Help me up.”

Derek extended his hand and pulled Emily to her feet, she let go and tried to take a few steps, wobbled, and would have fallen over again had Derek not been there to catch her. She stumbled into his arms and had to bite back a laugh at how ridiculous her predicament was, the moment seeming to her to be straight out of one of those romantic comedies she hated. Derek studied her, his dark eyes searching Emily’s.

“I don’t think you’re okay, princess.” He said. “You hit your head pretty hard, you could have a concussion.”

“I’m fine.” She said. “Just give me a minute.”

“Okay, everybody!” Derek said to the students. “I’m calling a draw. Take five while I get Ms. Prentiss some ice and talk amongst yourselves.”

Worried whispers filled the gym as Derek led Emily to the bleachers and sat her down, imploring her to stay put until he got back. So Emily sat wondering how she had found herself in such a ludicrous situation until Derek returned with an ice pack and a first aid kit. He sat beside her and touched either side of her temple, brow furrowing again when Emily winced.

“Tender?” He asked.

“A bit.” She replied. “I  _ did  _ go down pretty hard.”

Derek chuckled. “That you did, princess.” He said and cleared his throat. “Listen, I think you should go get checked out, I’ll call Hotch up and see if he can get someone to cover you.”

“Morgan, come on.” Emily said. “I’m not spending the night in the emergency room for a bump on the head.”

“Emily…”

“And even if I  _ do  _ have a concussion.” She continued, ignoring him. “I can’t fall asleep anyway so I might as well just tough it out. If I get sent home, I’m gonna pass out on the couch with Sergio on my lap.”

Derek frowned. “Sergio?”

“My cat.” She said. Then she grinned. “What, were you jealous or something?”

“Maybe, maybe not.” He shot back. “Alright, fine. But I want you to let me check you out to make sure you’re good to go, and I want you to take it  _ easy  _ the rest of the night, no complaints.”

“Fine.” She said. “Do your worst, Morgan.”

Derek shook his head but didn’t comment further as he began his work. Emily did her best to sit still and not flinch or pull away as Derek checked her for any signs of more significant injury, making a satisfied noise in his throat when he found none. He held up a finger and instructed Emily to follow it, and she tried her best, though she got more distracted than she cared to admit when she caught the serious expression on Derek’s face as he focused on her. The words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself.

“You have really beautiful eyes.”

Derek blinked, taken aback. “I’m sorry?”

“I- I don’t know why I said that.” Emily stammered, her cheeks turning pink. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-“

“It’s okay.” He said. “You really  _ must _ have hit your head hard if you’re complimenting my eyes.  _ Your _ eyes look fine though, you’re able to focus, no slurring your words. Here, for your head.”

Emily took the ice pack from him, avoiding eye contact as she pressed it to her head. She bit her lip, cursing her mouth for betraying her the way it had. Derek seemed to sense her discomfort and cleared his throat before the silence could get too awkward

“You have pretty eyes too, you know.”

Emily looked up to meet his gaze. “Oh?”

“Yeah.” Derek shrugged. “All warm and brown with little flecks of gold in them, like a campfire, or when the sun hits the trees just right in the fall.”

“Wow.” Emily said, unable to hide her smile. “I’m impressed, Morgan. That was damn near poetic.”

“Well, I  _ am  _ an English teacher.” He said grinning back at her. “It’s true though. They’re beautiful, like you.”

“Do you talk to everyone you work with like this?”

“You’re not everyone.” He said. “Now are you?”

Emily felt a warmth in her chest and heat in her face at Derek’s words. She mentally scolded herself for the light, fluttery feeling she felt, reminding herself that just hours earlier, she had considered this man an adversary. It was all good and well to change her mind about him, but there was no reason for her to react like one of the many giggly girls in her classes just because Derek Morgan was flirting with her. Emily reminded herself that she didn’t need nor  _ want  _ his attention, especially the romantic kind, though the more she talked with him, the less she started to believe that.

The night continued without incident for the most part, though Emily found herself strangely more drawn to Derek than she had been before, talking to him when she didn’t have to, laughing loudly at jokes that would have made her roll her eyes only yesterday, and most disturbingly, finding excuses to be close to him. Emily didn’t fully understand the change in her attitude towards Derek Morgan yet, but it scared her all the same. Scared  _ and  _ excited her, and Derek certainly didn’t seem to mind. If anything, he seemed to welcome her into his orbit, allowing her to take up as much space as she wanted. Somewhere around three or four in the morning when they had burned through all their other activities and both teachers and students were beginning to lose steam, Derek set up the projector and Emily selected a movie that would hopefully keep the increasingly exhausted teens preoccupied for a couple more hours and the pair took to the halls, pacing to keep themselves awake as the coffee stopped working and keeping an eye out for any students attempting to sneak off for some private time.

“How many of these things have you chaperoned?” Emily asked as they walked.

“Enough to know there’s usually at least one or two who try it.” Derek replied. “I get it, I remember being fourteen and fifteen well enough to know that their hormones are going crazy right now.”

Emily cringed. “Yeah, so do I.” She said. “All too well.”

Derek paused and raised an eyebrow. “Sounds like there’s a story there, princess.”

“There is.” She admitted. “But I think it’s still a little too early for us to completely bare our souls to one another, don’t you think?”

“Fair enough.” He said with a shrug. “You know, you never  _ did  _ tell me who you thought I was before.”

Emily paused, staring at him, wondering where to begin. She sighed and shook her head.

“I made a lot of assumptions about you when I first started here.” She said. “I feel like I should apologize, as an adult and an educator, I should have known better than to pass judgment so quickly. I’m sorry.”

“Emily, you’re human.” Derek said. “It happens, and if I gave you the wrong impression, I wanna know.”

“Okay.” Emily sighed. “When I first met you, I thought you were this cocky, womanizing ass whose goal was to sleep his way through the faculty.”

“Okay, ouch.” He said, smiling. “I can see why you thought that, though. Was it really just that?”

“No.” Emily said. “I thought  _ you _ had made judgements about me too. When you recognized my name and started calling me princess, I took it to mean that you thought I was just some brat politician’s daughter who never earned anything she had.”

Derek laughed. “I think you were projecting there a little bit, Emily.” He said. “Because that’s not at  _ all  _ how I think of you, never was.”

“It’s that damn chip on my shoulder.” She said. “I’m still trying to shake it, I guess.”

“We all got one.” He replied.

“Wait a minute.” She said. “So if that’s  _ not  _ how you thought of me, what  _ was  _ it?”

“I thought you were cute.” Derek said. “A little uptight, it was fun to get under your skin, but I thought if I joked around enough with you, you’d loosen up.”

Emily stopped, her cheeks flushed. “You thought I was cute?” She asked. “Me?”

“Emily, have you  _ seen  _ yourself lately?” He said. “Of course I thought you were cute, I thought you were  _ beautiful.  _ I still do, actually.”

“You do?” Emily said. Her heart gave a loud  _ thud _ inside of her chest.

“Yeah.” Derek said. “I do.”

That did it for Emily. The butterflies that had laid dormant in her stomach, the ones that she had been fighting so hard against all night, and she was beginning to suspect for a lot longer than she had realized, were hatching from their cocoons and coming back to life as she studied Derek’s face. She had never denied that he was attractive, but there in that hall in the dim light, she really  _ saw  _ him for maybe the first time in the five years she had known him. 

Derek Morgan was none of the things that she had thought he was and now that he had made himself known to her and she had taken the time to really look, Emily saw someone that she wanted to know more of. She wasn’t sure when she had moved so close to Derek that they were nearly chest-to-chest, or when the look in Derek’s eyes had changed from the deepest sincerity to something that seemed to match that unnamed feeling that burned inside her. They were close enough that all Derek needed to do was duck his head down and the distance between their lips would be closed, and it seemed like that was what he intended to do as he leaned in closer, his thumb brushing her jaw and Emily would have been inclined to let him do it had she not heard footsteps and muffled whispers heading towards them. She turned quickly away from Derek just in time to see two figures rounding the corner who stopped short when they saw the chaperones they thought they’d given the slip.

“Hey guys.” Emily said, clearing her throat. “Where you headed off to? The movie’s still going.”

“We, uh-“ the smaller student, a girl named Avery said. “We were just looking for the bathrooms.”

“Oh, right!” Emily said. “And you, Tommy, you were just being a gentleman, right?”

“Yeah, Ms Prentiss.” Tommy said. “I mean, it’s not safe for girls to go places alone at night anymore.”

Derek and Emily exchanged a look.

“Well then you guys wouldn’t mind if we walked with you.” Derek said. “Now would you?”

“No.” Avery replied, though she didn’t sound thrilled.

Derek smiled. “Right this way.”

They led the disappointed teens to the bathroom, barely able to hide their amusement at their students’ dejected expressions the entire way. No sooner had the doors to the very  _ separate  _ girls and boys restrooms close did Derek and Emily finally give up trying to suppress their laughter and how weak Avery and Tommy’s attempt to sneak off unnoticed had been.

“God!” Emily gasped through fits of giggles. “Do you think  _ we  _ were that obvious as kids?”

“Probably.” Derek chuckled in response. “I know I didn’t master the art of subtlety until college.”

“Hmm, I went to boarding school for a while in high school.” She said. “Maybe I got lucky.”

Derek quirked an eyebrow. “Maybe you did.”

“You know what I don’t get?” Emily said. “Why the bathroom or a supply closet? I mean I can think of few places that are  _ less  _ appealing to have sex in.”

“When you’re young and horny, you take what you can get, I guess.” He said with a shrug. “I don’t know, I feel like even when I  _ was  _ young and desperate, I still tried to find someplace a little more romantic.”

“Huh.” She said. “Good to know.”

Derek looked at her for a long time, and Emily’s stomach flipped as she recalled how only just minutes before, they had been so close to forgetting themselves and what they were there for. It was unnerving to Emily, what a major one-eighty her feelings had done in less than twelve hours. She had been content to hate Derek Morgan for all her days at the beginning of the night, now he had gotten dangerously close to kissing her and Emily had gotten dangerously close to letting him. What was more, Emily was coming to the realization that she had  _ wanted  _ him to. It was mildly terrifying. She felt like she didn’t even know her own heart or her own mind anymore. Avery and Tommy returned from their rather short bathroom break, and Emily and Derek followed them back to the gym, making sure the pair didn’t try to make any more detours. Halfway there, the back of Emily’s hand brushed against Derek’s only partially by accident and Derek surprised her by taking her hand in his, lacing their fingers together. Emily surprised herself by not pulling away and instead she looked up at him with a small smile and gave his hand a squeeze, deciding in that moment to give up fighting whatever invisible force kept drawing her toward Derek and to just let whatever happened next unfold naturally.

Dawn was beginning to break when they put in the second movie, a musical, to get them into the homestretch that was breakfast and Emily found herself becoming more bold, sitting closer to Derek than was professionally appropriate, leaning into him, and she was secretly thrilled when Derek took the hint and put his arm around her. They were treading dangerous waters, they knew full well that only thing saving them from being the next piece of hot gossip in the Schuyler Academy rumor mill was the fact that their students were too preoccupied with fighting to stay awake that they either didn’t notice that their teachers were all but canoodling or they were simply too tired to care. Towards the end of the movie, Derek and Emily untangled themselves and quietly stole away to the school kitchen to get the pre-made breakfast bakes in the oven. They worked in silence, though both of them would cast longing glances at one another when they thought the intended recipient wasn’t looking. Their arms grazed each other frequently. When Emily leaned over to check the ovens, she was surprised when Derek touched her elbow. She moved away from the heat and turned to look at him.

“Emily, I uh-“ Derek started, seeming uncharacteristically nervous. “I think we need to talk about whatever this is that’s happening between us.”

“Oh.” She said, trying to mask her disappointment.

“Listen.” He said. “I know you’ve always seen me as a bit of a player but I only play when everyone involved  _ knows  _ that it’s a game.”

“Okay.” Emily said. “What are you saying?”

“I just wanna know if this is a fluke.” He said. “I don’t wanna make a fool of myself if you’re expecting this night to end with us going back to the way things were and pretending that nothing happened.”

“What?” She said. “Morgan, you think I’m  _ playing  _ you?”

“I don’t know what to think.” He said. “To tell you the truth, princess, I’m not even sure how you  _ feel  _ about me. Yesterday you hated my guts, and now…”

“Derek!” Emily exclaimed, touching his arm. “I’m still trying to figure this out too. Trust me, tonight has been  _ nothing  _ like what I thought it was going to be. I’m just as confused as you are but I’m  _ not  _ stringing you along, Morgan! Okay?”

“Okay.” Derek said. “Fair enough. Well, when you think you’ve got this figured out, you let me know.”

Derek turned away from her but before he could get any farther, Emily grabbed his arm. His head snapped up and though his eyes were dark and intense, Emily swallowed her nerves and every instinct that told her to retreat, to back off, she held his gaze.

“I’m not good at this.” She said. “Back when we were talking in the hall and I said I remembered being fifteen all too well, you said it sounded like there was a story there and you were right.”

Derek arched his eyebrows but said nothing.

“We moved around a lot when I was a kid.” She continued. “It was hard to be fifteen and want to be accepted. I did a lot of things I wasn’t proud of. There was this boy, my  _ first  _ boyfriend. I wanted him to like me. I wanted it more than anything…”

“He got you pregnant.” He said. “Then left you to clean up the mess he helped make, right?”

“Yeah.” Emily said, not looking at him. “He tossed me a couple hundred bucks from his summer job to for an abortion and told me never to call him again.”

“I’m sorry.” Derek said.

“That’s not it.” Emily said. “A couple years before I came to work here, I was at a Catholic school in Boston. I got involved with a guy named Ian Doyle, a single dad whose son Declan was a student there. I thought he was the one. I was so under his spell that I couldn’t see through all of the lies, and when I finally did, it almost killed me.”

“I’m not sure I follow.” He said. “What do you mean?”

“He was part of the Irish mob, Derek.” She said, laughing at how absurd it sounded. “Former IRA, he did horrible things. When I found out, I tried to leave and...he hurt me. Badly. Bad enough that they called my mother all the way in Italy to tell her to make arrangements and prepare for the worst.”

“Emily…”

“He died a few months later when Boston PD staged a sting operation in collaboration with an organized crime task force.” She finished. “He went down in a hail of bullets, Declan’s nanny took him in until he turned eighteen, and I was left to deal with scars that felt like they were never gonna heal. They’re still not fully healed.”

“I get it, Emily.” He said quietly. “I get it more than you think. We all have things we don’t wanna talk about.”

Emily looked up at him, eyes wet. “Yeah?”

“Carl Buford.” Derek said. “That was the name of my monster. I still have nightmares about him, even though he’s been gone for years now.”

“Derek.” She said. “You don’t have to…”

“You told me your story.” He said. “And I’ve kept silent since I was thirteen years old. You know what I regret the most, Prentiss?”

“What?” She asked.

“I wasn’t even the one who turned him in.” He said, laughing mirthlessly. “It took three other boys speaking up before they put him away and the other inmates took him out once they found out what he was. He got what he deserved, and I got years of therapy.”

“It wasn’t your fault.” Emily said. “You didn’t deserve what happened to you any more than I deserved what happened to me, Derek. I hope you know that.”

“I know.” Derek said. “And I hope  _ you  _ know that you can trust me, Emily. I’m not gonna hurt you or abandon you if you let me in, I can promise you that.”

“I know.” She said, moving closer. “I  _ do  _ trust you.”

“You do?” He asked, cupping the sides of her face with his hands and pulling her in.

Emily nodded, and when she spoke again it was in a breathless whisper, “I do.”

Derek stroked her cheeks gently, brushing away a few stray tears that escaped her eyes and the way he looked at Emily took her breath away. Emily placed her hands on Derek’s broad chest, delighting in the way his heart hammered in his chest at her touch. Derek’s nose brushed hers as he leaned in and Emily took a shaky breath when his lips grazed hers, testing the waters before they dove off the deep end, past the point of no return. They had almost captured each other’s mouths when the timer for the ovens went off. Emily gave a frustrated sigh and Derek laughed softly, pressing his forehead to hers and closed his eyes.

“Saved by the bell.” He said. “Talk about impeccable timing, huh princess?”

“What if I don’t want to be saved?” She replied, her eyes bright and her face flushed.

“Well then.” Derek smiled and kissed her forehead so tenderly Emily felt herself melt. “I guess it’s ‘to be continued’. Come on, let’s get these kids fed…”

Emily reluctantly let him pull away, the reminder that they still had a job to do overriding the frustration she felt. She grabbed oven mitts and helped Derek dish up the food. A strange sense of calm washed over Emily as she realized that, while she hadn’t been lying when she told Derek she was still working out her feelings, she was more sure of herself than she had initially thought. In the course of a night, Derek Morgan had broken down nearly every wall that Emily had put up to keep him out and shared part of himself with her in return. Even more surprising, Emily had found herself breaking every rule she’d had for herself, gambling on those newfound feelings for Derek Morgan in a way that put her annual trip to Atlantic City to shame. All their cards had been laid out on the table, and for once, Emily found herself unwilling to fold.

_ Maybe, just maybe it’s time to let someone in… _

Finally, the lock-in ended. The students who had crowded the gym the nigh before squinted, shuffling out the front doors of the school in the bright morning light. Parents, guardians, and chauffeurs lined up in cars to pick up their exhausted children and custodians pushed their way through, grumbling about the extra work these lock-ins always made for them. When the last student had been picked up, Derek nodded at Emily and turned to make the short walk to his car, seeming content to leave whatever unfinished business the two had for a time when they weren’t running on no sleep. But something in Emily couldn’t let it rest first for even one more day, and before he had taken five steps, she called out after him, her voice sounding strangled and desperate.

“Derek!”

He stopped and turned to face her. “Yeah, princess?”

“Would you want to get coffee with me?” She asked, no longer bothering to hide the hope in her voice. “I know this great little place by my house. On me, of course.”

“You asking me out?” He asked, walking back to her.

“That depends.” Emily said. “Are you saying yes?”

Instead of answering, Derek pulled her in by the waist, tilted her head up, and finally closed the distance between his mouth and hers. It was nothing like Emily had expected, there was heat, but not the wild, uncontrollable kind she had thought would be there. Instead it was more of a slow burn that warmed her from the inside out and caused her to smile against Derek’s mouth before deepening the kiss. When they parted they didn’t move, they just held each other, wanting to savor the moment they were in. Derek grinned and Emily could feel herself blushing furiously but she was too happy to care.

“Wow, princess.” He said. “I’ve been wanting to do that for almost five years now.”

“Hmm.” She said. “You play your cards right and it won’t be the last time you get to do it.”

“Yeah?” He said. “I like the sound of that.”

Emily laughed and kissed Derek again, letting herself melt in his arms, the sunshine enveloping them in golden light. They walked to Emily’s car hand in hand, both ready to leave the past behind and embark on a new journey together, ready to enjoy the ride.

Four years later, Derek and Emily watched as those forty students who had attended the lock-in walked across the stage at their graduation and received their diplomas. Emily was radiant in a flowing floral dress, the ring on her left hand glinting in the sunlight as she cradled the swell of her stomach and looked on at another set of students reached the end of one journey and began another. Derek was right by her side, beaming as he held her free hand in his and brought it to his lips before running his thumb across her knuckles the same way he had at their wedding.

“It won’t be the same without you next year.” He noted, turning to his wife. “Everyone’s already talking about how much they’re gonna miss you.”

“It won’t be forever.” Emily said. “I just want to have the chance to give our daughter the undivided attention she deserves her first year of life.”

“I know.” Derek said. “Have I ever told you how much I love you, Emily Prentiss?”

“You might have mentioned it.” She replied. “And that’s Mrs. Morgan to you. Prentiss is my stage name.”

“Alright then, Mrs. Morgan.” He chuckled. “You think you’re up to stopping by the graduation party or is little miss Melody Morgan demanding you go rest?”

“I think she’ll allow us an hour or two.” She said, placing his hand on her stomach where their unborn daughter was kicking lazily. “It won’t be much longer.”

“A couple more weeks.” Derek said. “Who would’ve thought four years ago that you and me would end up getting married and having a baby together?”

“Not me.” Emily laughed, then her expression softened as she leaned in. “But I’m so glad it happened.”

“Me too, princess.” Derek said. “Me too.”

He smiled and Emily smiled back as she tilted her head up to kiss him. One night had been all it took to for them to change course four years ago, and now their lives had changed in the best way possible. Love had found them in the last place either of them had expected, and it had given them everything in return all because they had been willing to take a chance on each other and not let first impressions stop them from seeing one another for who they truly were. They were a family now, and their future had never been brighter. They looked on as the recent graduates threw their caps in the air and felt a sense of hope and excitement knowing that they too were about to embark on another new adventure of their own. Together.


End file.
